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ANZSCO 4117Skill level 2Health and care

Mental-health worker

Provide community-based mental-health support, including outreach, residential rehabilitation and peer support.

Salary

Cited figures from Job Outlook and QILT. ExamExplained does not publish predictive earnings or projections.

FigureAUDSource
Full-time weekly earnings$1500Job Outlook (2025-06-01)

How far does this stretch in each city?

What a mental-health worker actually does

Mental-health workers (often called mental-health support workers, peer workers or community mental-health workers) spend most of the shift building relationships with consumers in residential rehabilitation, outreach, day programmes or step-up step-down units. A community shift might start with a team meeting, then a string of home visits checking on medication compliance, daily-living tasks, appointments and crisis indicators. Inpatient rehab shifts include meal support, group facilitation, one-to-one yarn time and writing progress notes that feed into the consumer's recovery plan. Peer workers (with their own lived experience of mental illness) bring a unique perspective and may be part of an integrated recovery team with clinicians. Shifts are 8 to 12 hours and may include sleepovers, overnights or weekends depending on the service. The work is heavy on relationship and patience: change happens slowly, setbacks are common, and there are real risk situations to manage.

Typical tasks

  • Build trust-based relationships with consumers.
  • Support recovery planning and goal setting.
  • Refer to clinical and crisis services as required.

Skills you'll use

  • Recovery-oriented practice frameworks
  • Trauma-informed care
  • Risk assessment for self-harm and suicide
  • Crisis de-escalation and safety planning
  • Group facilitation and psychosocial education
  • Documentation in CMHIS or similar mental-health systems
  • Mandatory reporting and serious-incident reporting
  • Building rapport with consumers who may be sceptical of services

How to become one

  1. 1Finish Year 12 with English (or a Cert III prerequisite minimum)
  2. 2Complete a Certificate IV in Mental Health (CHC43315) or a Diploma of Community Services (CHC52015) with mental-health electives
  3. 3Alternatively, complete a Bachelor of Social Science, Psychology or Social Work for clinical-adjacent roles
  4. 4Apply for the NDIS Worker Screening Check, a National Police Check and a Working with Children Check
  5. 5Apply for entry-level roles with state mental-health services or community mental-health providers
  6. 6Consider postgraduate paths into social work, occupational therapy or psychology, or specialty training in alcohol and other drugs, eating disorders or forensic mental health

Where you can work

  • Public-sector community mental-health services
  • Non-government organisations (NGOs) like Neami, Wellways, Mind, Flourish
  • Step-up step-down and prevention and recovery centres
  • Forensic and corrections mental-health programmes
  • Headspace and youth mental-health services
  • Aboriginal community-controlled health services
  • Helplines and crisis lines

Career progression

Typical stages and salary bands. Salary figures are sourced from Job Outlook, QILT or industry bodies; brackets are 25th-75th percentile not absolute floors or ceilings.

  1. Entry-level worker
    0-2 years
    Typical roles: Mental-health support worker, Community mental-health worker, Peer worker
    Salary band: $62,000 - $75,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
  2. Senior worker
    3-7 years
    Typical roles: Senior mental-health worker, Lead peer worker, Recovery coach
    Salary band: $75,000 - $92,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
  3. Team leader or coordinator
    7+ years
    Typical roles: Team leader, Service coordinator, Programme manager
    Salary band: $90,000 - $115,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)

Is this for you?

You might love this if

  • You can sit with someone's distress without trying to fix it instantly
  • You're committed to recovery-oriented and trauma-informed practice
  • You're comfortable working alongside clinicians and following clinical plans
  • You can build trust with consumers who have been let down by services before
  • You're realistic about the slow pace of mental-health recovery

This might not suit you if

  • You can't handle suicidal disclosure or self-harm
  • You want a high-paced clinical role with diagnostic responsibility
  • You can't sustain hope when a consumer relapses
  • You can't follow team-based clinical decision-making

Three ways in

Uni, TAFE and trade routes for mental-health worker. Not every career has all three; we only list pathways that actually lead to this occupation.

University

Bachelor degrees that lead to this career.

No direct undergraduate pathway. Consider postgraduate study after a related bachelor degree.

TAFE / VET

Nationally accredited Certificate and Diploma qualifications.

Apprenticeship trade

Earn while you learn through an Australian Apprenticeship.

Not an apprenticeship trade.

Sources

ExamExplained does not publish predictive salary figures. For current Australian earnings data check Job Outlook directly. Career classifications follow the ABS ANZSCO 2022 release.